The Knight in Shining Nightclothes
by regina-the-queen
Summary: Beckett has her Saturday evening ritual disturbed... Not really set around any time, rated T, but a slightly angsty, slightly cute... Thing. One-shot that can be developed. Don't know how else to decribe it! Hinted Caskett and Esplanie.


**Disclaimer- Maybe someday, in a large plot which involves a 'cuffed#2' for the entire crew, but until then, it is not mine :/**

**A/N- This is just a T rated little oneshot just because I feel like it :P Why not, eh? This was supposed to be all happy and fluffy, but this is me, it just didn't turn out that way. Did you all see **_**Dial M for Mayor**_**? Thought it was awesome, and loving all the inter-links (won't give it away for those who haven't seen it).**

**Spoilers- This is just a random AU which is not set around any particular time, though it would help if you understand the page 105 relevance, so just read and enjoy!**

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><p>Kate Beckett's eyes wandered over the dedication of <em>Heat Wave<em> for the umpteenth time since she had stepped into the bubble bath that evening. _To the extraordinary KB and all my friends at the 12__th__. _She sighed. _The extraordinary KB. _Her gaze locked on that one word;_ Extraordinary_. Images of her and Castle on various cases flitted through her mind and she smiled as she recalled his creativity and childlike excitement and fascination in watching everything she did. And his sheer dumb luck! How often they had come so close to something catastrophic, but he had not failed yet as her lucky charm. Charming, he was. Handsome, he was. He was… extraordinary. It was almost too bad she hadn't written a book; otherwise she probably would have put the same in her dedication to him. Glancing at the clock, Beckett decided it might be an idea to get out of the cooling bath, no longer filled to her chin with bubbles. She stood up gingerly, and pulled the plug by hooking the chain between her toes as she returned to dry land. Instead of drying herself, however, she simply wrapped up in the towel and sat on the edge of the tub, watching the water swirl down the plug hole, until there was nothing left to be seen. Kate Beckett always took her time on her Saturday evening humdrum. She was at no fancy book signing, or having at night out on the town, instead indulging herself in her bubble bath and book regime.

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><p>Almost an entire half hour had passed before she was snuggled back down on the sofa in a pair of short shorts and a jersey that serviced as her nightclothes and a dressing gown, with a glass of red wine in one hand, and her well-thumbed copy of <em>Heat Wave<em> in the other. Opening the cover yet again, she smiled in her secret that she failed to mention to a certain author with a big ego, that this was not the first but the fifth time she had read the book. She liked to be thorough. However, upon reading the first sentence, she paused, instead flipping to the midsection of the book; page 105.

She had read this part of _Heat Wave _many times more than any other, but she couldn't explain why. There was just a way he wrote about the intimacy between Heat and Rook that made her blush. But not in the way that stopped her from reading it again and again. It just made her feel… well she didn't really know what it was. Yet just as she was beginning to immerse herself in the chapter, the doorbell rang. Her father's watch told her it was twelve forty-nine, so she shoved her bookmark between the pages before setting _Heat Wave_ down on the coffee table. There was only one person that would know she was still awake so late…

"Castle, what are you doing here?... Oh!" It was not the person she had been expecting to see, but his daughter. Alexis looked like a total mess; her cheeks were flushed and she was panting as though she had been running. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she sobbed and gasped for breath, trying to spit the words out.

"Alexis? Alexis, are you alright? What's wrong, what happened?" Beckett put her hand on the teen's shoulder and bent down to her eye level to try and seek some sort of sense in what Alexis was saying.

"My Dad… My Dad, he… Oh God… he…" Beckett could barely make out the words as the girl shook and sobbed before her. "Mugging, he, he tried to stop… tried to stop a mugging, through the alley shortcut on the way back from the movies. I… I called 911 but he told me to run, so I ran… I ran here, oh God, you need to help him… The guy had a knife and he…" her words were no longer comprehendible, so Beckett hurriedly got her so sit down on the couch, asking questions and telling her everything would be fine. As she was doing so, Beckett threw her dressing gown off and put on her coat and shoes over her nightclothes. She also grabbed her gun and badge, then asked Alexis where the mugging took place and told her to stay put and don't let anyone in. She gave the girl one last hug and told her everything was going to be fine before snatching her cell and rushing out the door.

Beckett realised that she'd forgotten to pick up her keys, so she bypassed her car, instead racing down the street at a full sprint. She heard sirens in the distance, but she knew she was closer, only half a block away from where she feared the worst. She turned down the blind alley, drawing her gun and still running full pace, racing towards the slumped figure on the floor. The lady who had been mugged crouched beside him, looking like she hadn't a clue what to do, panic in her eyes and blood on her hands. His blood. Beckett flashed her badge at the lady, put her gun away and demanded to know what happened as threw herself on the floor beside him, calling his name and applying pressure to the deep gash in his leg. He had passed out from the pain and loss of blood. So much blood. She was kneeling in it; covering her bare legs, soaking through her coat, and pumping out of the wound onto her hands as she tried to stop the flow. She checked is pulse, his breathing, both of which were faster and shallower than normal, but still going. When it was obvious the bleeding was not going to stop, Beckett hurriedly took off her coat, and her jersey, earning odd looks from the mugged lady who still crouched awkwardly, not knowing what to do. She asked the woman if she was alright, asked how long he'd been passed out for. He needed an ambulance. Now. Trying to maintain control, but the tears dripping down her face to defy her, she clung to her hope, winding the jersey around his leg, tightening it as much as possible to try and stop the bleeding, then sat back in the puddle of blood, knowing there was nothing more she could do. She ran her hands though her hair, a reflex that wasn't particularly helpful when your hands were caked in red. Beckett noticed she was shivering so she picked up her dripping coat which she had tossed mindlessly into the pool and grimaced as she slipped it back on, sobs wracking her body. The medics arrived but minutes later, tending to his laceration quickly, returning Beckett's blood-stained jersey, which she held limply by her side, and loading him onto the stretcher to wheel him into the ambulance. Both Beckett and the mugged lady rode with them, shock blankets around them, answering questions and being checked out for injuries as the vehicle carried them to the hospital.

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><p>Beckett stood outside the hospital, being stared at by everyone that passed for her state, eyeing her up and down as if to try and find an item of clothing that wasn't caked in blood. She had refused the offer of a hospital gown, as she hated feeling like a patient, but now she rather regretted it. The tang of iron stained her senses as she fished out her phone, calling her apartment to reassure Alexis that her father was going to be fine and to ask how she was holding up. Alexis seemed uptight but relieved, and Beckett told her to put on a movie or some music and help herself to a drink, or whatever she could find in her sparsely stocked fridge, to take her mind off what had happened until they came to get her. After she got off the phone with Alexis, she rang the other, equally worried Castle family member who hadn't a clue what was going on except that her son and granddaughter hadn't returned from the cinema. Becket told Martha calmly what had happened and reassured her that both Alexis and Rick were fine, and suggested that she went to pick up Alexis from her apartment. Martha was very melodramatic and worried about her son, but Beckett managed to persuade her that Alexis probably needed Martha more than he right now. Finally, Beckett texted the rest of her team and Lanie the same message;<p>

_Rick injured, but will b fine. Knife wound 2 the leg. Visit Englewood Hospital 3pm on sun if u can. KB x_

None of them delivered. Not surprising. 2:30 am on a Sunday, of course their phones will be switched off. Beckett switched her phone to silent before going back inside and wandering through the corridors until she found Rick's room again. He was still asleep. Beckett moved the chair in the corner closer and sat beside him, carefully sweeping a wisp of hair from his brow and lightly tracing her fingers down his face and arm. He was hooked up to an IV, feeding him painkillers to allow him to rest. Kate listened to the rhythmic dripping of fluid in the bag on the IV, as her gaze meandered down his figure to his right leg, which was left uncovered by the sheets that draped over the rest of his body, leaving the laceration exposed. The doctors had stitched up the knife wound on his thigh and cleaned up all of the blood but despite the neatness it was still obvious that it would leave a scar. Her touch danced over it lightly, barely making contact as she let her fingers caress the reddened line. All nineteen stitches. Nineteen pleas that there's no lasting damage. A nurse walked in to check his vitals and IV, nodding politely to Beckett and telling her to call someone if he wakes up. Only when she had gone did Beckett realise the gravity of her exhaustion. Yet she still sat, just watching her sleeping partner, taking his hand into both of hers as she did so. She shook her head, smiling at his bravery and stupidity, angry that the man who did this to him had got away. She was full of swirling emotions; worry, relief, anger, admiration, helplessness and frustration. Yet here he lay, the subject of her inner conflict, seemingly peaceful and unperturbed.

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><p>The moment Kate Beckett awoke she knew she had missed his hours of consciousness. Her hands were still holding his, but he had moved slightly, holding both of her hands with both of his, turned towards her, lying on his side as though he has been watching her sleep as she had previously, but tried not to wake her with his change in position. She lifted her head off the edge of the bed and extracted her hands from his grasp to check the time on her father's watch. Eight twenty three in the morning. Beckett stretched out the awkward sleeping position, and stood up; walking back and forth for a while before deciding that she should probably ask a doctor for an update. The nurse Beckett talked to left her feeling drained and irritated, but had managed to convince her that a shower and some clothing other than nightwear was a good idea, so she made her way back outside, and upon realising that she didn't have a car, or money, switched her phone back off silent, sat on a bench and read her texts.<p>

_6:05 AM, Kevin Ryan:_

_What happened? Jenny & I will be there ASAP aft 3:15, due 2earlier plan, sorry. C u soon. Ryan_

His short and simple text showed Ryan through and through; concern for his friend and his obvious inferiority to his partner. What a softy.

_RE: 8:29 AM, Me:_

_Tried 2stop a mugging. Alexis came 2me 4help & I found him passed out with a gash in his leg. All stitched up &ok now tho. Gonna go home and get some rest so wont b hospital, but will catch ya l8r. KB _

She scrolled down to text two out of three.

_7:49 AM, Javier Esposito:_

_Yo, wuzzup? Is Castle ok? Bet that'll giv ya sum heck of a stack'o paperwork! How long d'ya think he'll be showin' off dat scar? Gonna hitch a ride wiv Lanie, so will b hospital dead on 3. Espo x_

Beckett almost laughed at how she could hear Esposito's voice through his text, he wrote just like he spoke. She smiled at the kiss after his name as well; his way of saying 'are you ok?' and 'I know I act tough, but I do care really'. She liked that her Latino friend and colleague always had her back, yet could still understand how to say the right thing at the right time.

_RE: 8:33 AM, Me:_

_He's fine; 19 stitches = 19 years of showing off! Won't b hospital, goin home 4a bit, but will catch ya l8r. Say soz 2Castle 4me when u visit. KB _

Finally, Beckett reached the text from Lanie. It read;

_7:51 AM, Lanie Parish:_

_Girl, CALL ME! R u ok, is he ok? L xx_

Beckett figured the text was pretty clear, so she pressed speed dial #3 and prepared for the verbal onslaught of a Lanie who had been waiting over forty minutes for a reply. She didn't need to wait long, as her best friend picked up on the second ring.

"_Hey girl, where've you been?" _Lanie really didn't bother with the pleasantries.

"Sorry Lanie, I fell asleep for a while, and I've only just left the hospital. In fact, I haven't really left, I'm sitting outside it." Kate tried to sound apologetic but only succeeded in sounding weary.

"_What are you apologising for? I just wanted to know if you guys are okay! What happened, give me details, now! You sound dead girl, how long did you sleep for? Five minutes?"_ Kate laughed at her friend's directness.

"Haha something like that… Yeah, he'll be fine. All stitched up. He got stabbed in the leg in a mugging of a lady. The guy just wounded him then ran. He was long gone by the time I got there. I'm fine. Exhausted and I have to walk home in my pyjamas, but not hurt."

"_I'm just glad I don't have either of you on my table. What the hell was Castle thinking anyway? He hangs around with cops, so now he's invincible? Your pyjamas? Walking? I'm not gonna ask, but you stay put, and I'll pick you up. I'm not having you walking all the way from the hospital with barely any sleep. I'll be there in ten minutes." _Beckett tried to protest, but Lanie wouldn't accept no for an answer, so she sat on the bench, having hung up the phone until her friend came to her aid.

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><p>Upon parking in front of the hospital, Lanie leaned out of the window at her bedraggled friend.<p>

"You look like hell, girl." Well, at least she was being honest. Beckett climbed into the car, and chucked her jersey in the foot-well, then sighed and turned to her friend;

"It's been a long night." Lanie didn't reply, but her face said it all. They drove back to Beckett's apartment while she explained exactly what had happened, in detail to the other lady. When they arrived, Beckett found her key, strategically tucked just inside the post box by Alexis. She also found a note in the living room, thanking her and saying that her grandmother had come to fetch her. Lanie made coffee and some breakfast for Beckett while she showered and put on a different set of shorts, jersey and her dressing gown (she couldn't be bothered to be presentable), then sat with her as they continued their conversation. Beckett felt much better after having a caffeine hit and something to eat, but still decided after the initial boost had worn off, that sleep was definitely a top priority. Lanie left at around midday, as she had to pick up Esposito to go to visit Castle and eat some lunch at some point, which Kate's house was useless at providing. After she had gone, Beckett flopped down on her sofa, and pulled the blanket that was draped over the back of it, to cover her and started to doze. It didn't take long for Beckett to fall asleep completely. She dreamt of getting an anonymous tip of a dead man down an alley, a robbery gone wrong. When her and her team showed up, it was Rick, bled out in an alley with his throat cut. She got caught up in the nightmare of having to visit his corpse in the morgue with Lanie, and have his picture stuck on her murder board. She dreamt that his murderer was always so close, yet she could never quite touch him, never quite bring her partner to justice… she woke with a start at the ring of the doorbell. Her father's watch told her it was twelve forty-nine, so threw the blanket off and let the belt of her dressing gown hang loose. There was only one person that would call on her so late…

"Kate, Hi." It was Castle, of course. Equipped with crutches but looking fairly normal, health-wise.

"Oh, hey Castle, come on in. how are you feeling?" Castle's eyes slid up and down Beckett as he hobbled in, with her hair slightly mussed and a change to her usual attire.

"I'm doing great. The doctors were really cool and let me go early on the proviso that I rest up. I didn't wake you did I?" He sat on her couch next to her, and leant the crutches against it.

"Oh, no you didn't wake me, I was just… reading" she lied, spotting _Heat _Wave lying on the coffee table. She hoped he didn't see it. "You call this resting up? You should be at home! I'm glad you're okay anyhow. Sorry I couldn't make it to the hospital in visitor's hours." Castle shot her a look but said nothing, and Kate swivelled around so her back was against the arm rest of the settee with her legs crossed, facing him.

"Well, I won't stay long; I don't want to keep you up, plus Alexis and mother don't know I'm out, they'd probably have a fit. I just came 'round to say… oh! What's this?" Castle reached across the coffee table and picked up the thing she really didn't want him to. "You were reading _Heat wave_?" Kate watched first the confusion, then the ego, then the curiosity bloom on his face in silence, feeling the burn slowly rise to her cheeks. She almost reached out and grabbed it from his grasp, but for reasons unbeknownst to her, she didn't. He looked up from the book, to the woman trying to sink into the floor next to him and back to the book. He grinned, and Kate could see the process playing out on his face; measuring her reaction to realise it wasn't being caught out with the book in itself that made her blush, but what she was reading. He opened his book slowly, eyes locked on his partner, giving her plenty of time to stop him, but still she sat, willing to die and unable to move her arms, so he lowered his gaze to page 105.

"I, uh… it's not, I mean… I wasn't…" Kate realised her mindless stuttering was doing her no good, so she clamped her mouth shut and concentrated on trying to dispel the awful redness in her cheeks, with no avail. But instead of teasing and poking her with ego-filled jibes, Castle simply snapped the book shut and stood shakily, trying to keep the weight off his bad leg. Kate leapt up to help, steadying him whilst he reached for his crutches.

"Well anyway," he began, "I just came around to say thanks." Beckett crossed her arms.

"What for?" she asked, trying to sound nonchalant, images of her nightmare flooding back to her as she did so she guided him to the front door opening it for him, but he just stood there. He raised his eyebrows and adopted his 'don't you try to fool me' tone.

"You know why. I could hear you in the alley, I know what you did. Alexis told me she watched you run down the street at full pelt out of the window. The doctors say I severed an artery and that I would have died from loss of blood if you hadn't have been there. You rang my mother and my daughter to explain and make sure they were alright. You contacted the team and told them when they could visit to make sure I wasn't alone." He smiled as she brushed it off as nothing and said jokily; "you gave up a perfectly nice coat, pair of shoes and you stuck around in nightclothes for me" That made her smile. He took her hands and went back to serious-mode. "You sat with me all night. I know, I woke up and saw you there. You were covered in… you saved my life" He hugged her tightly, leaning against her slightly so he didn't have to put his weight on his right leg and she wrapped her arms around his waist. "Thank you." He mumbled against her ear. "Thank you so much." And as he pulled away and stepped out the door to leave, she smiled.

"Always."

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><p><strong>AN- Hope you liked it! Sorry it's more hurt than comfort, but please review anyways, I do love to hear what you think! Oh and virtual cake to the people who can spot the subtle hint at an Esplanie relationship :D (It's not that she was picking him up!)**


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